Rana Begum

Born in 1977 in Bangladesh, Rana Begum relocated to the UK as a child. Graduating with a BA in Fine Art from Chelsea College of Art and Design, she then completed an MFA in Painting at Slade School of Fine Art. 

Begum uses her understanding of formal visual language to create powerful minimalist abstract works. Inspired by Islamic art, architecture, geometric patterns and urban landscapes, Begum's practice explores the interaction between form, light, and color. Simultaneously experimental in aesthetic and precise in technique, her practice challenges accepted notions of materiality and spatial conduct. Folded metal works are first developed as delicate paper studies. Despite the robust material of the final artwork, Begum is able to convey the weightlessness and levity of the original construction.

Light plays an integral role in Begum's artistic process. Multiple perspectives are achieved through the acute composition of light, reflection and form; works absorb and reflect varied densities of light to produce an experience for audiences that is both temporal and sensorial. These geometric planes are exquisitely captivating, inviting the viewer to observe the work from various angles. The physicality of this visual encounter demonstrates Begum's unique ability to blend sculpture, painting and architecture.

Begum's first museum solo exhibition Space Colour Lightopened at the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts in May 2017 and traveled to Djanogly Gallery in Nottingham, UK in July 2018. Other solo exhibitions include: Ordered Form, St Albans Museum + Gallery, St. Albans, UK (2023); Dappled Light, The Box, Plymouth, UK  (2023); Infinite Geometry,Wanås Konst, The Wanås Foundation, Sweden (2021);Dhaka Art Summit, Bangladesh, 2020 (and 2014), Perception and Reflection, The Third Line, Dubai, UAE (2019); A Conversation with Light and Form, Tate St Ives, Cornwall, UK (2018); Rana Begum: The Space Between, Parasol Unit, London, UK (2016); and New Works, Delfina Foundation, London, UK(2010). 

Begum has participated in many international group exhibitions including:Urban Impressions: Experiencing The Global Contemporary Metropolis, Moody Center for the Arts, Rice University, Texas, USA (2022); Creative Folkestone Triennial, UK (2021);Breaking the Mould, Longside Gallery, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, UK (2021); There is Fiction in the Space Between, The Third Line, Dubai, UAE (2020);Heavy Metal – Women to Watch,The National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington DC, USA (2018); Actions. The Image of The World Can Be Different, Kettle’s Yard, London, UK (2018); The Order of Things, The Wilson, Cheltenham, UK (2017); Sol LeWitt - A Tribute, Gemeente Museum Den Haag, The Hague, Netherlands (2017); Flatland, MRAC Serignan, France (2017); The Shapes We’re In, Paul Carey-Kent, London, UK (2015); Geometries of Difference: New Approaches to Ornament and Abstraction, Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art, State University of New York at New Paltz, New York, USA (2015); Future Light, Vienna Biennale (2015);Ideas for Change, MAK-Museum of Applied Arts, Vienna, Austria (2015); Linear Abstraction, Savannah College of Art and Design, GA, USA (2015); and Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy, London, UK (2012). 

Begum's works have been acquired by international institutions and foundations including Cleveland Clinic, Ohio, USA; Simons Foundation, NY, USA; Art Museum of Western Virginia, Virginia, USA; The London Institute, London, UK; Westgate Oxford Alliance, UK; Samdani Collection, India; MoNA (Museum of Old and New Art), Tasmania; The Sainsbury Centre, Norwich, UK; Ishara Art Foundation, United Arab Emirates; Arts Council Collection, London, UK; Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, UK; Collection Pictet, Geneva, Switzerland; Coimbatore Centre for Contemporary Arts, Tamil Nadu, India; Ernst & Young Collection, London, UK; Sainsbury Visual Arts Centre, Norwich, UK; and Marfa Invitational, Texas, USA, among others

Begum currently lives and works in London.